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Photo caption reads: A fleet submarine, probably Grouper (SS-214), returning to Brisbane on 29 May 1943, is welcomed by a band, fresh food and mail.
A little more indirect evidence about Boat #1 being Grouper is in her patrol report endorsements. In a letter dated 31 May 1943, there is a reference to the just arrived Grouper having her bridge cut down in that refit. If the 4-7 June date is correct, then it would mean that Boat #1/Grouper was photographed in mid cut down. It looks like Fulton (AS-11) got to Grouper just a day or two before Albacore (SS-218). She still has the high bridge forward and shows the starboard small boat locker bulge. It looks like they cut down the after cigarette deck and the shears, but not the forward bridge so they were clearly doing this in little stages. The boat she's approaching is probably Albacore based upon the drilled casing roundover. Guardfish (SS-217) departed on the 25th, so Albacore is the likely suspect.

EB plan 2053-29, and BuShips plan 388778. Its a general outboard arrangement for SS-214-221 and SS-253-254. It shows very plainly that boats from SS-214 onwards only had the one small boat locker. Grouper only had the one small boat locker offset to port, but she carried the bulge to starboard as if she had one there too, only she didn't! The plan very clearly shows the bulge to starboard for Grouper, but then states, "DECKLINE FOR SS-214 ONLY."Grouper being modified with her bridge being cut down after her May 29 return from patrol with a high fairwater as in the US Subs Down Under photo, which would explain the whitish look to her bridge face; it was probably primer or wet paint. The bulge to starboard that I originally thought indicated either Gato (SS-212) or Greenling (SS-213) is there, but there just isn't any locker beneath it! Why EB built Grouper like this is anyone's guess. Perhaps when the change order came, construction on Grouper was already too far ahead to stop and re-contour the deck casing? EB wasn't known for deviating from the plans lightly, so perhaps this was the best the Navy could get out of them? They then went to the single locker and no starboard bulge of any kind starting with Growler (SS-215). This might explain why the Manitowac boats had the single locker, too, since their contract was to build copies of Growler herself, portholes in the bridge face notwithstanding. EB initially resisted pressure from the Navy to alter the plans, citing concerns about delays in production if they did. What they were really worried about was making a profit, each little change cost more and ate into their profit margin. This attitude was somewhat understandable, as EB is a civilian company and they existed to make a profit for their shareholders. However, EB's intransigence got so bad that the Bureau of Ships had to threaten the company with making them build the boats to the Government plans supplied by Portsmouth, wiping out their design capability, which would have put them in a very bad spot commercially after the war. EB backed off when they realized how serious the Bureau was. They took on a whole new attitude and their resistance to change quickly evaporated. What you are seeing with Grouper is an outgrowth of this situation. As part of an attempt to eliminate what the Bureau thought was "frivolous" peacetime equipment on the boats, an order was issued on 10 May 1942 to eliminate the motorboat. This was the official order that legitimized a practice that was already going on in the fleet. Many of the submarines beached the motorboat(s) between patrols as it became clear that they were just not needed anymore. Grouper was probably built with the original capacity of having two boats, as was the original intent for the Gato class. But she may have only gotten one boat when she was finished.Albacore's patrol report backs up her being Boat #4. It reads, in part, "Major items accomplished during refit - alteration of bridge superstructure for mounting additional 20 mm gun." This was for her refit between 27 May and 10 June, 1943, so the dates connect up nicely with the photo.
Either way, the dates look solid, and the activity in the photo looks like a June, 1943, photo. Peto would depart on patrol on June 13th, so the boxes on her foredeck are probably supplies being loaded up.

Photo i.d. & text courtesy of Robert Morgan & Dave Johnston (USNR).Photo courtesy of Robert Morgan courtesy of US Subs Down Under, 1942-1945 by David Jones & Peter Nunan.

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Citation from Admiral Carpender aboard the Guardfish receiving their submarine combat insignia on 18 August 1943.The boats in the background are: Peto (SS-265) in the middle. Interesting that she still has the high bridge forward. She would depart on 9/1/43, so unless the tender did a quick cut down, she would have departed on patrol in September still with a high bridge. Even if they did cut it down before she departed, its interesting that she still had it as late as August. I had no idea they were splotching the periscopes that early, a great detail for modelers. Scamp (SS-277) to the right. Assuming the August 18 date is correct, that would match up. Scamp departed on patrol on September 2nd, so she would have been there. If the boat to her port is a high bridged type (hard to tell, but from the sailor peeking out of the dead light, maybe), then she would be Peto, who was likely the only high bridge type there, and probably the very last one. She would depart on September 2nd.Others in port at that time included Albacore (SS-218), Stingray (SS-186), Grouper (SS-214) and likely Gato (SS-212). All departed Brisbane between August 23rd and September 6th.Grouper is to the left in the background moored with the Fulton (AS-11). The boat to her starboard whose extreme stern is probably Tuna (SS-203). She had left for patrol before the awards ceremony date, but a friendly fire incident with an RAAF bird forced her back into Brisbane for repairs, so she had reentered port and didnít leave again until August 21st, 1943. She had the aft torpedo tube shutters as-built like the other Tambors, and like the mystery boat. Itís hard to see and faint but the mystery boat appears to have the degaussing circuit on her stern.

At the conclusion of her eighth patrol Grouper (SS-214) headed for the States and overhaul, reaching San Francisco 19 October 1943. She is seen here broadside on 22 December 1943.

USN photo courtesy of Ed Zajkowski.

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Grouper (SS-214) in the fog of war, 22 December 1943.

USN photo courtesy of Ed Zajkowski.

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Bow on view of the Grouper (SS-214), 27 December 1943.

USN photo courtesy of Ed Zajkowski.

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Last days of the Grouper (SS-214) at Mare Island, 27 December 1943. She returned to Pearl Harbor on 7 January 1944.

US Navy / B.S. photo # 57194, courtesy of Ed Zajkowski.

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Grouper (SS-214), in 17 July 1945, off Mare Island wearing Ms 32/3SS-B camoflage scheme. The photo shows 40-mm guns fore & aft, a new 5 in/25 gun forward, and a twin 20-mm mount aft in a space into which a second 5 in/25 gun could fit (submarines normally carried one gun in either location).

Plan view Grouper (SS-214) at Mare Island on 17 July 1945. The barge YF-312 is in the background.

USN photo # 5335-45, courtesy of Ed Zajkowski.

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Plan view amidships looking aft, 17 July 1945.

USN photo # 5336-45, courtesy of Ed Zajkowski.

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Bow on view of Grouper (SS-214), off Mare Island on 17 July 1945.

USN Photo # 5303-45, courtesy of Darryl L. Baker.

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This close up of the Grouper (SS-214),shows the standard arrangement of the "SJ" radar. The radar was mounted forward of the periscopes. The "SD" radar is visible aft of the other lookout platform above the searchlight. The forward torpedo loading hatch is open, ready to load "fish". Note the newly added 20mm gun pedestal base.

Grouper (SS-214) typifies the Gato-class (SS-212-84) at the end of WW II. This photo was taken on 15 May 1950 when the submarine was being prepared for conversion for ASW. By this time all the guns had been landed. The new SS radar had replaced the earlier SJ; the big antenna was for the wartime SV air search set. Note the venturi at the fore end of the bridge. By this time the DF loop for underwater HF reception was generally mounted between the two periscopes.

Secretary of the Navy D. A. Kimball (Stetson over heart during ceremony) and party during a photo op held dockside prior to their boarding the Flying Fish (SS-229). The Sea Robin (SS-407) & Grouper (SS-214) are in the background.

Grouper (SSK-214) appears here on 18 April 1952. With the addition of a snorkel and extensive sonar and radar facilities Grouper emerged from the Mare Island yard 27 June 1951 to pioneer in research on the deadly submarine-versus-submarine warfare. For the next 8 years, as a unit of Submarine Development Group 2, Grouper worked to develop and test concepts of hunter-killer antisubmarine warfare. In this duty she ranged along the East Coast from Nova Scotia to Florida as well as participating in Caribbean exercises. In 1953 and 1955 exercises took Grouper across the Atlantic to Rothesay, Scotland, via Iceland.

Grouper (SS-214), undergoing post overhaul sea trials off Portsmouth, NH, May 1960.
Grouper shared the yard with new-construction Abraham Lincoln (SSBN-
602), Thresher (SSN-593) and with Nautilus (SSN-571) (first
refueling) and often had to fight for attention. But Portsmouth's work
made Grouper distinctive.

PUFFS passive ranging hydrophones (ten-footers) are in the three large
fins. The billboard-like housing for the "planar array" made for
stability concerns - Grouper always rolled to port on surfacing. During
surface transits strict rig-for-dive was broken to run with the LP
blower lined up to blow port side only, because of the list she
sometimes developed in weather. Aft of the sail is the Colossus active
sonar. It was powered by a large MG set in (converted) #7 MBT . Not
visible: Linear array of line hydrophones which ran the length of the
starboard side. Prairie and Masker air piping (extra large blower in
pump room). All six forward torpedo tubes removed.